Bay Area Real Estate News, May 2018

March pending home sales barely rose as buyers struggled to afford what little is available. March usually marks the official start of the spring, but it didn’t cause more home buyers to leap into action.

Signed contracts to purchase existing home rose just 0.4% nationwide in March compared to February, according to a monthly pending home sales index from the National Association of Realtors.

These contracts are a forward-looking indicator of closed sales in April and May. The index was down 3% compared to March 2017, marking the third straight month of annual declines.

“Healthy economic conditions are creating considerable demand for purchasing a home, but not all buyers are able to sign contracts because of the lack of choices in inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. “Steady price growth and the swift pace listings are coming off the market are proof that more supply is needed to fully satisfy demand.”